James Vaughan could still be a Premier League striker

Huddersfield striker James Vaughan has been amongst the goals this season

On Friday night Huddersfield’s James Vaughan scored his 10^th goal of the season and missed an 84^th minute penalty, as his side drew 1-1 with 10-man Blackpool in the Championship. The striker also had a goal ruled out for offside.

Devastated

Town boss Mark Robins told Sky Sports: “He’s devastated; he beats himself up so he’s really disappointed. He feels like he’s let everybody down, it’s the end of the world, but he’ll be okay again tomorrow.”

Goals

The miss was a rare mishap in what has already been a goal-laden season for the former-England under-21 striker. Vaughan is now just four goals away from his goal tally from last season, when he was on-loan with the Terriers.

Starlet

James Vaughan broke onto the Premier League scene in spectacular fashion. The striker came on as a substitute for Everton against Crystal Palace at the age of 16 years and 271 days and became the youngest ever Premier League goalscorer, a record that still stands nine years later.

Vaughan was regarded as a player with a big future by everybody associated with Everton. The fans and management wanted the youngest to make it so badly at Goodison Park.

Even though he was not a Scouser, he was considered one of their own by the Goodison faithful, because he came through the Everton ranks. The youngster had raw talent and finishing ability, but he had one big problem, he just could not avoid picking up injuries.

Unfortunate

Every time it looked like he could make it at Everton, he would have an injury setback. It must have been so frustrating for the striker, as his hunger to play football is there for all to see. He had a series of loan spells at the likes of Derby, Leicester and Crystal Palace, before Everton reluctantly allowed him to move to Norwich for a fee of around £2.5million.

However, it was a similar story at Carrow Road, where Vaughan made just five appearances for the Canaries, before joining Huddersfield on a season-long loan deal last season.

Favourite

Despite again having injuries problems Vaughan became a big favourite amongst the Huddersfield fans, as he hit 14 goals in 33 Championship appearances. His performances last season were enough to convince Town to sign the striker on a permanent deal for an undisclosed fee.

Still time

The striker has made an impressive start to the season with Huddersfield and hopefully will stay away from any injuries that may hamper his progress. At 25 there is still time for him to make it at the top level.

It is a familiar story of a young footballer’s career hampered by injury. Who knows where he would be now if he hadn’t had so much bad luck when it comes to injuries. Vaughan has always had the talent and the passion for football, but his body has always let him down.

It was a surprise to a lot of Everton fans when the Toffees let Vaughan leave the club. Despite his injury problems he was popular with the fans, because of his tenacity and will-to-win. It does not seem like the striker has lost either of those attributes in his time in the Championship.

It seemed that then Everton boss David Moyes believed that the youngster would never fulfil his potential, because of his knack of picking up injuries and decided to sell the youngster.

Hopeful

I have always liked James Vaughan and I am really hopeful that one day he will get to play Premier League football once again. He may not have the talent of a Lionel Messi or a Cristiano Ronaldo, but he has a big heart and does have talent to boot.

If he carries on scoring goals for Huddersfield in the Championship and stays injury-free, who knows the striker may be returning to a Premier League ground near you very soon.

Does James Vaughan have the potential to be a Premier League striker?